Encoding method using plus and/or minus rounding of images

ABSTRACT

An image coding method is utilized to provide high quality images without error accumulation. Such an image coding method comprises estimating motion vectors between an input image to be coded and a reference image; synthesizing a prediction image of the input image using the motion vectors and the reference image; generating a difference image by calculating a difference between the input image and the prediction image; and outputting coded information of the input image including information related to the difference image and the motion vectors. The prediction image is synthesized by calculating intensity values at points where no pixels actually exist in the reference image by interpolation. Such an interpolation is performed according to information specifying a positive rounding method or a negative rounding method when the current frame is a P frame, and using a predetermined rounding method which is a positive rounding method or a negative rounding method when the current frame is a B frame.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is a continuation of application Ser. No.09/513,688 filed on Feb. 25, 2000, which is a continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 09/093,194, filed on Jun. 8, 1998, now issued asU.S. Pat. No. 6,295,376, the contents of which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety.

[0002] This application is also related to application Ser. No.09/514,287 filed on Feb. 28, 2000, now issued as U.S. Pat. No.6,560,367; application Ser. No. 09/516,207, filed on Feb. 29, 2000, nowissued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,529,632; application Ser. No. 09/516,245 filedon Mar. 1, 2000; application Ser. No. 09/875,872 filed on Jun. 8, 2001,now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,567,558; application Ser. No. 09/875,928filed on Jun. 8, 2001; application Ser. No. 09/875,929 filed on Jun. 8,2001, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,584,227; application Ser. No.09/875,930 filed on Jun. 8, 2001; application Ser. No. 09/875,932 filedon Jun. 8, 2001, all of which, like the present application, arecontinuations of application Ser. No. 09/093,194 filed on Jun. 8, 1998,now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,295,376.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] 1. Field of the Invention

[0004] The present invention relates to an image sequence coding anddecoding method which performs interframe prediction using quantizedvalues for chrominance or luminance intensity.

[0005] 2. Related Art

[0006] In high efficiency coding of image sequences, interframeprediction (motion compensation) by utilizing the similarity of adjacentframes over time, is known to be a highly effective technique for datacompression. Today's most frequently used motion compensation method isblock matching with half pixel accuracy, which is used in internationalstandards H.263, MPEG1, and MPEG2. In this method, the image to be codedis segmented into blocks and the horizontal and vertical components ofthe motion vectors of these blocks are estimated as integral multiplesof half the distance between adjacent pixels. This process is describedusing the following equation:

[0007] [Equation 1]

P(x,y)=R(x+u _(i) ,y+v _(i)(x,y)?B ₁,0≦i<N.  (1)

[0008] where P(x, y) and R(x, y) denote the sample values (luminance orchrominance intensity) of pixels located at coordinates (x, y) in thepredicted image P of the current frame and the reference image (decodedimage of a frame which has been encoded before the current frame) R,respectively. “x” and “y” are integers, and it is assumed that all thepixels are located at points where the coordinate values are integers.Additionally it is assumed that the sample values of the pixels arequantized to non-negative integers. N, Bi, and (ui, vi) denote thenumber of blocks in the image, the set of pixels included in the i-thblock of the image, and the motion vectors of the i-th block,respectively.

[0009] When the values for “ui” and “vi” are not integers, it isnecessary to find the intensity value at the point where no pixelsactually exist in the reference image. Currently, bilinear interpolationusing the adjacent four pixels is the most frequently used method forthis process. This interpolation method is described using the followingequation: $\begin{matrix}{\left\lbrack {{Equation}\quad 2} \right\rbrack \begin{matrix}{R\left( {{x + \frac{p}{d}},{{y + \frac{q}{d}} = \left( {{\left( {d - q} \right)\left( {{\left( {d - p} \right){R\left( {x,y} \right)}} + {p\quad {R\left( {{x + 1},y} \right)}}} \right)} +} \right.}} \right.} \\{\left. \left. {{q\left( {{\left( {d - p} \right){R\left( {x,{y + 1}} \right)}} + {p\quad R}} \right)}\left( {{x + 1},{y + 1}} \right)} \right) \right)//d^{2}}\end{matrix}} & (2)\end{matrix}$

[0010] where “d” is a positive integer, and “p” and “q” are smaller than“d” but not smaller than zero “0”. “//” denotes integer division whichrounds the result of normal division (division using real numbers) tothe nearest integer.

[0011] An example of the structure of an H.263 video encoder is shown inFIG. 1. As the coding algorithm, H.263 adopts a hybrid coding method(adaptive interframe/intraframe coding method) which is a combination ofblock matching and DCT (discrete cosine transform). A subtractor 102calculates the difference between the input image (current frame baseimage) 101 and the output image 113 (related later) of theinterframe/intraframe coding selector 119, and then outputs an errorimage 103. This error image is quantized in a quantizer 105 after beingconverted into DCT coefficients in a DCT converter 104 and then formsquantized DCT coefficients 106. These quantized DCT coefficients aretransmitted through the communication channel, while at the same timeused to synthesize the interframe predicted image in the encoder.

[0012] The procedure for synthesizing the predicted image is explainednext. The above mentioned quantized DCT coefficients 106 forms thereconstructed error image 110 (same as the reconstructed error image onthe receive side) after passing through a dequantizer 108 and inverseDCT converter 109. This reconstructed error image and the output image113 of the interframe/intraframe coding selector 119 is added at theadder 111 and the decoded image 112 of the current frame (same image asthe decoded image of current frame reconstructed on the receiver side)is obtained. This image is stored in a frame memory 114 and delayed fora time equal to the frame interval. Accordingly, at the current point,the frame memory 114 outputs the decoded image 115 of the previousframe. This decoded image of the previous frame and the original image101 of the current frame are input to the block matching section 116 andblock matching is performed between these images. In the block matchingprocess, the original image of the current frame is segmented intomultiple blocks, and the predicted image 117 of the current frame issynthesized by extracting the section most resembling these blocks fromthe decoded image of the previous frame. In this process, it isnecessary to estimate the motion between the prior frame and the currentframe for each block. The motion vector for each block estimated in themotion estimation process is transmitted to the receiver side as motionvector data 120.

[0013] On the receiver side, the same prediction image as on thetransmitter side is synthesized using the motion vector information andthe decoding image of the previous frame. The prediction image 117 isinput along with a “0” signal 118 to the interframe/intraframe codingselector 119. This switch 119 selects interframe coding or intraframecoding by selecting either of these inputs. Interframe coding isperformed when the prediction image 117 is selected (this case is shownin FIG. 2). On the other hand when the “0” signal is selected,intraframe coding is performed since the input image itself isconverted, to a DCT coefficients and output to the communicationchannel.

[0014] In order for the receiver side to correctly reconstruct the codedimage, the reciever must be informed whether intraframe coding orinterframe coding was performed on the transmitter side. Consequently,an identifier flag 121 is output to the communication circuit. Finally,an H.263 coded bitstream 123 is acquired by multiplexing the quantizedDCT coefficients, motion vectors, the and interframe/intraframeidentifier flag information in a multiplexer 122.

[0015] The structure of a decoder 200 for receiving the coded bit streamoutput from the encoder of FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 2. The H.263 codedbit stream 217 that is received is demultiplexed into quantized DCTcoefficients 201, motion vector data 202, and an interframe/intraframeidentifier flag 203 in the demultiplexer 216. The quantized DCTcoefficients 201 become a decoded error image 206 after being processedby an inverse quantizer 204 and inverse DCT converter 205. This decodederror image is added to the output image 215 of theinterframe/intraframe coding selector 214 in an adder 207 and the sum ofthese images is output as the decoded image 208. The output of theinterframe/intraframe coding selector is switched according to theinterframe/intraframe identifier flag 203. A prediction image 212utilized when performing interframe encoding is synthesized in theprediction image synthesizer 211. In this synthesizer, the position ofthe blocks in the decoded image 210 of the prior frame stored in framememory 209 is shifted according to the motion vector data 202. On theother hand, for intraframe coding, the interframe/intraframe codingselector outputs the “0” signal 213 as is.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0016] The image encoded by H.263 is comprised of a luminance plane (“Y”plane) containing luminance information, and two chrominance planes (“U”plane and “V” plane) containing chrominance information.

[0017] At this time, characteristically, when the image has 2m pixels inthe horizontal direction and 2n pixels in the vertical direction (“m”and “n” are positive integers), the Y plane has 2m pixels horizontallyand 2n pixels vertically, the U and V planes have m pixels horizontallyand n pixels vertically.

[0018] The low resolution on the chrominance plane is due to the factthat the human visual system has a comparatively dull visual facultywith respect to spatial variations in chrominance. Having such image asan input, H.263 performs coding and decoding in block units referred toas macroblocks.

[0019] The structure of a macroblock is shown in FIG. 3. The macroblockis comprised of three blocks; a Y block, U block and V block. The sizeof the Y block 301 containing the luminance information is 16×16 pixels,and the size of the U block 302 and V block 303 containing thechrominance information is 8×8 pixels.

[0020] In H.263, half pixel accuracy block matching is applied to eachblock. Accordingly, when the estimated motion vector is defined as (u,v), u and v are both integral multiples of half the distance betweenpixels. In other words, ½ is used as the minimum unit. The configurationof the interpolation method used for the intensity values (hereafter theintensity values for “luminance” and “chrominance” are called by thegeneral term “intensity value”) is shown in FIG. 4. When performing theinterpolation described in equation 2, the quotients of division arerounded off to the nearest integer, and further, when the quotient has ahalf integer value (i.e. 0.5 added to an integer), rounding off isperformed to the next integer in the direction away from zero. In otherwords, in FIG. 4, when the intensity values for 401, 402, 403, 404 arerespectively La, Lb, Lc, and Ld (La, Lb, Lc, and Ld are non-negativeintegers), the interpolated intensity values Ia, Ib, Ic, and Id (ia, Ib,Ic, and Id are non-negative integers) at positions 405, 406, 407, 408are expressed by the following equation: $\begin{matrix}{\left\lbrack {{Equation}\quad 3} \right\rbrack \begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{{Ia} = {Ib}} \\{{Ib} = \left\lbrack {\left( {{La} + {Lb} + 1} \right)/2} \right\rbrack}\end{matrix} \\{{Ic} = \left\lbrack {\left( {{La} + {Lc} + 1} \right)/2} \right\rbrack}\end{matrix} \\{{Id} = \left\lbrack {\left( {{La} + {Lb} + {Lc} + {Ld} + 2} \right)/4} \right\rbrack}\end{matrix}} & (3)\end{matrix}$

[0021] where “[ ]” denotes truncation to the nearest integer towardszero “0” (i.e. the fractional part is discarded). The expectation of theerrors caused by this rounding to integers is estimated as follows: Itis assumed that the probability that the intensity value at positions405, 406, 407, and 408 of FIG. 4 is used is all 25 percent. When findingthe intensity value Ia for position 405, the rounding error will clearlybe zero “0”. Also, when finding the intensity value Ib for position 406,the error will be zero “0” when La+Lb is an even number, and when an oddnumber the error is ½. If the probability that La+Lb will be an evennumber and an odd number is both 50 percent, then the expectation forthe error will be 0×½+½×½=¼. Further, when finding the intensity valueIc for position 407, the expectation for the error is ¼ as for Ib. Whenfinding the intensity value Id for position 408, the error when theresidual of La+Lb+Lc+Ld divided by four are 0, 1, 2, and 3 arerespectively 0, −¼, ½, and ¼.

[0022] If we assume that the probability that the residual is 0, 1, 2,and 3 is all equal (i.e. 25 percent), the expectation for the error is0×¼−¼×¼+½×¼+¼×¼=⅛. As described above, assuming that the possibilitythat the intensity value at positions 405-408 being used are all equal,the final expectation for the error is 0×¼+¼×¼+¼×{fraction(1/)}4+⅛×¼={fraction (5/32)}. This indicates that each time motioncompensation is performed by means of block matching, an error of{fraction (5/32)} occurs in the pixel intensity value. Generally in lowrate coding, sufficient number of bits cannot be used for the encodingof the interframe error difference so that the quantized step size ofthe DCT coefficient is prone to be large. Accordingly, errors occurringdue to motion compensation are corrected only when it is very large.When interframe encoding is performed continuously without performingintraframe coding under such environment, the errors tend to accumulateand cause bad effects on the reconstructed image.

[0023] Just as explained above, the number of pixels is about half (½)in both the vertical and horizontal direction on the chrominance plane.Therefore, for the motion vectors of the U block and V block, half (½)the value of the motion vector for the Y block is used for the verticaland horizontal components. Since the horizontal and vertical componentsof the motion vector for the Y block motion vector are integralmultiples of ½, the motion vector components for the U and V blocks willappear as integral multiples of ¼ (quarter pixel accuracy) if ordinarydivision is implemented. However, due to the high computationalcomplexity of the intensity interpolation process for motion vectorswith quarter ¼ pixel accuracy, the motion vectors for U and V blocks arerounded to half ½ pixel accuracy in H.263.

[0024] The rounding method utilized in H.263 is as follows: According tothe definition described above, (u, v) denotes the motion vector of themacroblock (which is equal to the motion vector for the Y block).Assuming that r is an integer and s is a non-negative integer smallerthan 4, u/2 can be rewritten as u/2=r+s/4. When s is 0 or 2, no roundingis required since u/2 is already an integral multiple of ½. However whens is equal to 1 or 3, the value of s is rounded to 2. By increasing thepossibility that s takes the value of 2 using this rounding method, thefiltering effect of motion compensation can be emphasized. When theprobability that the value of s prior to rounding is 0, 1, 2, and 3 areall percent, the probability that s will be 0 or 2 after rounding willrespectively be 25 percent and 75 percent. The above explained processrelated to the horizontal component u of the motion vector is alsoapplied to the vertical component v. Accordingly, in the U block and Vblock, the probability for using the intensity value of the 401 positionis ¼×¼={fraction (1/16)}, and the probability for using the intensityvalue of the 402 and 403 positions is both {fraction (1/)}4×¾={fraction(3/16)}, while the probability for using the intensity value of position404 is ¾×¾={fraction (9/16)}. By utilizing the same method as above, theexpectation for the error of the intensity value is 0×{fraction(1/16)}+¼×{fraction (3/16)}+¼×{fraction (3/16)}+⅛×{fraction(9/16)}={fraction (21/128)}.

[0025] Just as explained above for the Y block, when interframe encodingis continuously performed, the problem of accumulated errors occurs. Asrelated above, for image sequence coding and decoding methods in whichinterframe prediction is performed and luminance or chrominanceintensity is quantized, the problem of accumulated rounding errorsoccurs. This rounding error is generated when the luminance orchrominance intensity value is quantized during the generation of theinterframe prediction image.

[0026] In view of the above problems, it is therefore an object of thisinvention, to improve the quality of the reconstructed image bypreventing error accumulation.

[0027] In order to achieve the above object, the accumulation of errorsis prevented by limiting the occurrence of errors or performing anoperation to cancel out errors that have occurred.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the layout of the H.263 imageencoder.

[0029]FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the layout of the H.263 imagedecoder.

[0030]FIG. 3 is a drawing showing the structure of the macro block.

[0031]FIG. 4 is a drawing showing the interpolation process of intensityvalues for block matching with half pixel accuracy.

[0032]FIG. 5 is a drawing showing a coded image sequence.

[0033]FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a software image encodingdevice.

[0034]FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a software image decodingdevice.

[0035]FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing an example of processing in thesoftware image encoding device.

[0036]FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing an example of the coding modedecision processing for the software image encoding device.

[0037]FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing an example of motion estimationand motion compensation processing in the software image encodingdevice.

[0038]FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the processing in the softwareimage decoding device.

[0039]FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing an example of motion compensationprocessing in the software image decoding device.

[0040]FIG. 13 is a drawing showing an example of a storage media onwhich an encoded bit stream generated by an encoding method that outputsbit streams including I, P+ and P− frames is recorded.

[0041]FIG. 14 is a set of drawings showing specific examples of devicesusing an encoding method where P+ and P− frames coexist.

[0042]FIG. 15 is a drawing showing an example of a storage media onwhich an encoded bit stream generated by an encoding method the outputsbit streams including I, B, P+, and P− frames is recorded.

[0043]FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing an example of a block matchingunit included in a device using an encoding method where P+ and P−frames coexist.

[0044]FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing the prediction imagesynthesizer included in a device for decoding bit streams encoded by anencoding method where P+ and P− frames coexist.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0045] First, in which circumstances the accumulated rounding errors asdescribed in the “Related Art” occur must be considered. An example ofan image sequences encoded by coding methods which can perform bothunidirectional prediction and bidirectional prediction such as inMPEG.1, MPEG.2 and H.263 is shown in FIG. 5.

[0046] An image 501 is a frame-coded by means of intraframe coding andis referred to as an I frame. In contrast, images 503, 505, 507, 509 arecalled P frames and are coded by unidirectional interframe coding byusing the previous I or P frame as the reference image. Accordingly,when for instance encoding image 505, image 503 is used as the referenceimage and interframe prediction is performed. Images 502, 504, 506 and508 are called B frames and bidirectional interframe prediction isperformed utilizing the previous and subsequent I or P frame. The Bframe is characterized by not being used as a reference image wheninterframe prediction is performed. Since motion compensation is notperformed in I frames, the rounding error caused by motion compensationwill not occur. In contrast, not only is motion compensation performedin the P frames but the P frame is also used as a reference image byother P or B frames so that it may be a cause leading to accumulatedrounding errors. In the B frames on the other hand, motion compensationis performed so that the effect of accumulated rounding errors appearsin the reconstructed image. However, due to the fact that B frames arenot used as reference images, B frames cannot be a source of accumulatedrounding errors. Thus, if accumulated rounding errors can be preventedin the P frame, then the bad effects of rounding errors can bealleviated in the overall image sequence. In H.263 a frame for coding aP frame and a B frame exists and is called a PB frame (For instance,frames 503 and 504 can both be encoded as a PB frame). If the combinedtwo frames are viewed as separate frames, then the same principle asabove can be applied. In other words, if countermeasures are takenversus rounding errors for the P frame part within a PB frame, then theaccumulation of errors can be prevented.

[0047] Rounding errors occur during interpolation of intensity valueswhen a value obtained from normal division (division whose operationresult is a real number) is a half (½) integer (0.5 added to an integer)and this result is then rounded up to the next integer in the directionaway from zero. For instance, when dividing by 4 to find an interpolatedintensity value is performed, the rounding errors for the cases when theresidual is 1 and 3 have equal absolute values but different signs.Consequently, the rounding errors caused by these two cases are canceledwhen the expectation for the rounding errors is calculated (in moregeneral words, when dividing by a positive integer d′ is performed, therounding errors caused by the cases when the residual is t and d′ −t arecancelled). However, when the residual is 2, in other words when theresult of normal division is a half integer, the rounding error cannotbe canceled and leads to accumulated errors.

[0048] To solve this problem, a method that allows the usage of tworounding methods can be used. The two rounding methods used here are: arounding method that rounds half (½) integers away from zero (0); and arounding method that rounds half (½) integers towards zero (0). Bycombining the usage of these two rounding methods, the rounding errorscan be canceled. Hereafter, the rounding method that rounds the resultof normal division to the nearest integer and rounds half integer valuesaway from 0 is called “positive rounding”. Additionally, the roundingmethod that rounds the result of normal division to the nearest integerand rounds half (½) integer values towards zero (0) is called “negativerounding”. The process of positive rounding used in block matching withhalf (½) pixel accuracy is shown in Equation 3. When negative roundingis used instead, this equation can be rewritten as shown below.$\begin{matrix}{\left\lbrack {{Equation}\quad 4} \right\rbrack \begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{{Ia} = {Ib}} \\{{Ib} = \left\lbrack {\left( {{La} + {Lb}} \right)/2} \right\rbrack}\end{matrix} \\{{Ic} = \left\lbrack {\left( {{La} + {Lc}} \right)/2} \right\rbrack}\end{matrix} \\{{Id} = \left\lbrack {\left( {{La} + {Lb} + {Lc} + {Ld} + 1} \right)/4} \right\rbrack}\end{matrix}} & 4\end{matrix}$

[0049] Hereafter motion compensation methods that performs positive andnegative rounding for the synthesis of interframe prediction images arecalled “motion compensation using positive rounding” and “motioncompensation using negative rounding”, respectively. Furthermore, for Pframes which use block matching with half (½) pixel accuracy for motioncompensation, a frame that uses positive rounding is called a “P+ frame”and a frame that uses negative rounding is called a “P− frame” (underthis definition, the P frames in H.263 are all P+ frames). Theexpectation for the rounding errors in P+ and P− frames have equalabsolute values but different signs. Accordingly, the accumulation ofrounding errors can be prevented when P+ frames and P− frames arealternately located along the time axis.

[0050] In the example in FIG. 5, if the frames 503 and 507 are set as P+frames and the frames 505 and 509 are set as P− frames, then this methodcan be implemented. The alternate occurrence of P+ frames and P− framesleads to the usage of a P+ frame and a P− frame in the bidirectionalprediction for B frames. Generally, the average of the forwardprediction image (i.e. the prediction image synthesized by using frame503 when frame 504 in FIG. 5 is being encoded) and the backwardprediction image (i.e. the prediction image synthesized by using frame505 when frame 504 in FIG. 5 is being encoded) is frequently used forsynthesizing the prediction image for B frames. This means that using aP+ frame (which has a positive value for the expectation of the roundingerror) and a P− frame (which has a negative value for the expectation ofthe rounding error) in bidirectional prediction for a B frame iseffective in canceling out the effects of rounding errors. Just asrelated above, the rounding process in the B frame will not be a causeof error accumulation. Accordingly, no problem will occur even if thesame rounding method is applied to all the B frames. For instance, noserious degradation of decoded images is caused even if motioncompensation using positive rounding is performed for all of the Bframes 502, 504, 506, and 508 in FIG. 5. Preferably only one type ofrounding is performed for a B frame, in order to simplify the B framedecoding process.

[0051] A block matching section 1600 of an image encoder according tothe above described motion compensation method utilizing multiplerounding methods is shown in FIG. 16. Numbers identical to those inother drawings indicate the same part. By substituting the blockmatching section 116 of FIG. 1 with 1600, multiple rounding methods canbe used. Motion estimation processing between the input image 101 andthe decoded image of the previous frame is performed in a motionestimator 1601. As a result, motion information 120 is output. Thismotion information is utilized in the synthesis of the prediction imagein a prediction image synthesizer 1603.

[0052] A rounding method determination device 1602 determines whether touse positive rounding or negative rounding as the rounding method forthe frame currently being encoded. Information 1604 relating to therounding method that was determined is input to the prediction imagesynthesizer 1603. In this prediction image synthesizer 1603, aprediction image 117 is synthesized and output based on the roundingmethod determined by means of information 1604. In the block matchingsection 116 in FIG. 1, there are no items equivalent to 1602, 1604 ofFIG. 16, and the prediction image is synthesized only by positiverounding. Also, the rounding method 1605 determined at the blockmatching section can be output, and this information can then bemultiplexed into the bit stream and be transmitted.

[0053] A prediction image synthesizer 1700 of an image decoder which candecode bit streams generated by a coding method using multiple roundingmethods is shown in FIG. 17. Numbers identical to those in otherdrawings indicate the same part. By substituting the prediction imagesynthesizer 211 of FIG. 2 by 1700, multiple rounding methods can beused. In the rounding method determination device 1701, the roundingmethod appropriate for prediction image synthesis in the decodingprocess is determined. In order to carry out decoding correctly, therounding method selected here must be the same as the rounding methodthat was selected for encoding.

[0054] For instance the following rule can be shared between the encoderand decoder: When the current frame is a P frame and the number of Pframes (including the current frame) counted from the most recent Iframe is odd, then the current frame is a P+frame. When this number iseven, then the current frame is a P− frame. If the rounding methoddetermination device on the encoding side (For instance, 1602 in FIG.16) and the rounding method determination device 1701 conform to thiscommon rule, then the images can correctly be decoded. The predictionimage is synthesized in the prediction image synthesizer 1703 usingmotion information 202, decoding image 210 of the prior frame, andinformation 1702 related to the rounding method determined as justdescribed. This prediction image 212 is output and then used for thesynthesis of the decoded image.

[0055] As an alternative to the above mentioned case, a case where theinformation related to the rounding method is multiplexed in thetransmitted bit stream can also be considered (such bit stream can begenerated at the encoder by outputting the information 1605 related tothe rounding method from the block matching section depicted in FIG.16). In such case, the rounding method determiner device 1701 is notused, and information 1704 related to the rounding method extracted fromthe encoded bit stream is used at the prediction image synthesizer 1703.

[0056] Besides the image encoder and the image decoder utilizing thecustom circuits and custom chips of the conventional art as shown inFIG. 1 and FIG. 2, this invention can also be applied to software imageencoders and software image decoders utilizing general-purposeprocessors. A software image encoder 600 and a software image decoder700 are shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. In the software image encoder 600,an input image 601 is first stored in the input frame memory 602 and thegeneral-purpose processor 603 loads information from here and performsencoding. The program for driving this general-purpose processor isloaded from a storage device 608 which can be a hard disk, floppy disk,etc. and stored in a program memory 604. This general purpose processoralso uses a process memory 605 to perform the encoding. The encodinginformation output by the general-purpose processor is temporarilystored in the output buffer 606 and then output as an encoded bit stream607.

[0057] A flowchart for the encoding software (recording medium readableby computer) is shown in FIG. 8. The process starts in 801, and thevalue 0 is assigned to variable N in 802. Next, in 803 and 804, thevalue 0 is assigned to N when the value for N is 100. N is a counter forthe number of frames. 1 is added for each one frame whose processing iscomplete, and values from 0 to 99 are allowed when performing coding.When the value for N is 0, the current frame is an I frame. When N is anodd number, the current frame is a P+ frame, and when an even numberother than 0, the current frame is a P− frame. When the upper limit forthe value of N is 99, it means that one I frame is coded after 99 Pframes (P+ frames or P− frames) are coded. By always inserting one Iframe in a certain number of coded frames, the following benefits can beobtained: (a) Error accumulation due to a mismatch between encoder anddecoder processing can be prevented (for instance, a mismatch in thecomputation of DCT); and (b) The processing load for acquiring thereproduced image of the target frame from the coded data (random access)is reduced. The optimal N value varies when the encoder performance orthe environment where the encoder is used are changed. It does not mean,therefore, that the value of N must always be 100.

[0058] The process for determining the rounding method and coding modefor each frame is performed in 805 and the flowchart with details ofthis operation is shown in FIG. 9. First of all, whether N is a zero (0)or not is checked in 901. If N is 0, then ‘I’ is output as distinctioninformation of the prediction mode, to the output buffer in 902. Thismeans that the image to be coded is will be coded as an I frame. Here,“output to the output buffer” means that after being stored in theoutput buffer, the information is output to an external device as aportion of the coded bit stream. When N is not 0, then whether N is anodd or even number is identified in 904. When N is an odd number, ‘+’ isoutput to the output buffer as the distinction information for therounding method in 905, and the image to be coded will be coded as a P+frame. On the other hand, when N is an even number, ‘−’ is output to theoutput buffer as the distinction information for the rounding method in906, and the image to be coded will be coded as a P− frame.

[0059] The process again returns to FIG. 8, where after determining thecoding mode in 805, the input image is stored in the frame memory A in806. The frame memory A referred to here signifies a portion of thememory zone (for instance, the memory zone maintained in the memory of605 in FIG. 6) of the software encoder. In 807, it is checked whetherthe frame currently being coded is an I frame. When not identified as anI frame, motion estimation and motion compensation is performed in 808.

[0060] The flowchart in FIG. 10 shows details of this process performedin 808. First of all, in 1001, motion estimation is performed betweenthe images stored in frame memories A and B (just as written in thefinal part of this paragraph, the decoded image of the prior frame isstored in frame memory B). The motion vector for each block is found,and this motion vector is sent to the output buffer. Next, in 1002,whether or not the current frame is a P+ frame is checked. When thecurrent frame is a P+ frame, the prediction image is synthesized in 1003utilizing positive rounding and this prediction image is stored in framememory C. On the other hand, when the current frame is a P− frame, theprediction image is synthesized in 1004 utilizing negative rounding andthis prediction image is stored in the frame memory C. Next, in 1005,the differential image between frame memories A and C is found andstored in frame memory A.

[0061] Here, the process again returns to FIG. 8. Prior to starting theprocessing in 809, the input image is stored in frame memory A when thecurrent frame is an I frame, and the differential image between theinput image and the prediction image is stored in frame memory A whenthe current frame is a P frame (P+ or P− frame). In 809, DCT is appliedto the image stored in frame memory A, and the DCT coefficientscalculated here are sent to the output buffer after being quantized. In810, inverse quantization is performed to the quantized DCT coefficientsand inverse DCT is applied. The image obtained by applying inverse DCTis stored in frame memory B. Next in 811, it is checked again whetherthe current frame is an I frame. When the current frame is not an Iframe, the images stored in frame memory B and C are added and theresult is stored in frame memory B. The coding process of a frame endshere, and the image stored in frame memory B before going into 813 isthe reconstructed image of this frame (this image is identical with theone obtained at the decoding side). In 813, it is checked whether theframe whose coding has just finished is the final frame in the sequence.If this is true, the coding process ends. If this frame is not the finalframe, 1 is added to N in 814, and the process again returns to 803 andthe coding process for the next frame starts.

[0062] A software decoder 700 is shown in FIG. 7. After the coded bitstream 701 is temporarily stored in the input buffer 702, this bitstream is then loaded into the general-purpose processor 703. Theprogram for driving this general-purpose processor is loaded from astorage device 708 which can be a hard disk, floppy disk, etc. andstored in a program memory 704. This general-purpose processor also usesa process memory 605 to perform the decoding. The decoded image obtainedby the decoding process is temporarily stored in the output frame memory706 and then sent out as the output image 707.

[0063] A flowchart of the decoding software for the software decoder 700shown in FIG. 7 is shown in FIG. 11. The process starts in 1101, and itis checked in 1102 whether input information is present. If there is noinput information, the decoding process ends in 1103. When inputinformation is present, distinction information of the prediction modeis input in 1104. The word “input” used here means that the informationstored in the input buffer (for instance 702 of FIG. 7) is loaded by thegeneral-purpose processor. In 1105, it is checked whether the encodingmode distinction information is “I”. When not “I”, the distinctioninformation for the rounding method is input and synthesis of theinterframe prediction image is performed in 1107.

[0064] A flowchart showing details of the operation in 1107 is shown inFIG. 12. In 1201, a motion vector is input for each block. Then, in1202, it is checked whether the distinction information for the roundingmethod loaded in 1106 is a “+”. When this information is “+”, the framecurrently being decoded is a P+ frame. In this case, the predictionimage is synthesized using positive rounding in 1203, and the predictionimage is stored in frame memory D. Here, frame memory D signifies aportion of the memory zone of the software decoder (for instance, thismemory zone is obtained in the processing memory 705 in FIG. 7). Whenthe distinction information of the rounding method is not “+”, thecurrent frame being decoded is a P− frame. The prediction image issynthesized using negative rounding in 1204 and this prediction image isstored in frame memory D. At this point, if a P+ frame is decoded as aP− frame due to some type of error, or conversely if a P− frame isdecoded as a P+ frame, the correct prediction image is not synthesizedin the decoder and the quality of the decoded image deteriorates.

[0065] After synthesizing the prediction image, the operation returns toFIG. 11 and the quantized DCT coefficients is input in 1108. Inversequantization and inverse DCT is then applied to these coefficients andthe resulting image is stored in frame memory E. In 1109, it is checkedagain whether the frame currently being decoded is an I frame. If thecurrent frame is not an I frame, images stored in frame memory D and Eare added in 1110 and the resulting sum image is stored in frame memoryE. The image stored in frame memory E before starting the process in1111 is the reconstructed image. This image stored in frame memory E isoutput to the output frame memory (for instance, 706 in FIG. 7) in 1111,and then output from the decoder as the reconstructed image. Thedecoding process for a frame is completed here and the process for thenext frame starts by returning to 1102.

[0066] When a software based on the flowchart shown in FIGS. 8-12 is runin the software image encoders or decoders, the same effect as whencustom circuits and custom chips are utilized are obtained.

[0067] A storage media (recording media) with the bit stream generatedby the software encoder 601 of FIG. 6 being recorded is shown in FIG.13. It is assumed that the algorithms shown in the flowcharts of FIGS.8-10 is used in the software encoder. Digital information is recordedconcentrically on a recording disk 1301 capable of recording digitalinformation (for instance magnetic disks, optical disk, etc.). A portion1302 of the information recorded on this digital disk includes:prediction mode distinction information 1303, 1305, 1308, 1311, and1314; rounding method distinction information 1306, 1309, 1312, and1315; and motion vector and DCT coefficient information 1304, 1307,1310, 1313, and 1316. Information representing ‘I’ is recorded in 1303,‘P’ is recorded in 1305, 1308, 1311, and 1314, ‘+’ is recorded in 1306,and 1312, and ‘−’ is recorded in 1309, and 1315. In this case, ‘I’ and‘+’ can be represented by a single bit of zero (0), and ‘P’ and ‘−’ canbe represented by a single bit of one (1). Using this representation,the decoder can correctly interpret the recorded information and thecorrect reconstructed image is synthesized. By storing a coded bitstream in a storage media using the method described above, theaccumulation of rounding errors is prevented when the bit stream is readand decoded.

[0068] A storage media with the bit stream of the coded data of theimage sequence shown in FIG. 5 being recorded is shown in FIG. 15. Therecorded bit stream includes information related to P+, P−, and Bframes. In the same way as in 1301 of FIG. 13, digital information isrecorded concentrically on a record disk 1501 capable for recordingdigital information (for instance, magnetic disks, optical disks, etc.).A portion 1502 of the digital information recorded on this digital diskincludes: prediction mode distinction information 1503, 1505, 1508,1510, and 1513; rounding method distinction information 1506, and 1512;and motion vector and DCT coefficient information 1504, 1507, 1509,1511, and 1514. Information representing ‘I’ is recorded in 1503, ‘P’ isrecorded in 1505, and 1510, ‘B’ is recorded in 1508, and 1513, ‘+’ isrecorded in 1505, and ‘-’ is recorded in 1511. In this case, ‘I’, ‘P’and ‘B’ can be represented respectively by two bit values 00, 01, and10, and ‘+’ and is ‘−’ can be represented respectively by one bit values0 and 1. Using this representation, the decoder can correctly interpretthe recorded information and the correct reconstructed is synthesized.

[0069] In FIG. 15, information related to frame 501 (I frame) in FIG. 5is 1503 and 1504, information related to 502 (B frame) is 1508 and 1509,information related to frame 503 (P+ frame) is 1505 and 1507,information related to frame 504 (B frame) is 1513 and 1514, andinformation related to frame 505 (P− frame) is 1510 and 1512. Whencoding image sequences are coded using B frames, the transmission orderand display order of frames are usually different. This is because theprevious and subsequent reference images need to be coded before theprediction image for the B frame is synthesized. Consequently, in spiteof the fact that the frame 502 is displayed before frame 503,information related to frame 503 is transmitted before informationrelated to frame 502.

[0070] As described above, there is no need to use multiple roundingmethods for B frames since motion compensation in B frames do not causeaccumulation of rounding errors. Therefore, as shown in this example,information that specifies rounding methods (e.g. ‘+’ and ‘−’) is nottransmitted for B frames. Thus for instance, even if only positiverounding is applied to B frames, the problem of accumulated roundingerrors does not occur. By storing coded bit streams containinginformation related to B frames in a storage media in the way describedabove, the occurrence of accumulated rounding errors can be preventedwhen this bit stream is read and decoded.

[0071] Specific examples of coders and decoders using the coding methoddescribed in this specification is shown in FIG. 14. The image codingand decoding method can be utilized by installing image coding anddecoding software into a computer 1401. This software is recorded insome kind of storage media (CD-ROM, floppy disk, hard disk, etc.) 1412,loaded into a computer and then used. Additionally, the computer can beused as an image communication terminal by connecting the computer to acommunication lines. It is also possible to install the decoding methoddescribed in this specification into a player device 1403 that reads anddecodes the coded bit stream recorded in a storage media 1402. In thiscase, the reconstructed image signal can be displayed on a televisionmonitor 1404. The device 1403 can be used only for reading the coded bitstream, and in this case, the decoding device can be installed in thetelevision monitor 1404. It is well known that digital data transmissioncan be realized using satellites and terrestrial waves. A decodingdevice can also be installed in a television receiver 1405 capable ofreceiving such digital transmissions. Also, a decoding device can alsobe installed inside a set top box 1409 connected to asatellite/terrestrial wave antenna, or a cable 1408 of a cabletelevision system, so that the reconstructed images can be displayed ona television monitor 1410. In this case, the decoding device can beincorporated in the television monitor rather than in the set top box,as in the case of 1404. The layout of a digital satellite broadcastsystem is shown in 1413, 1414 and 1415. The video information in thecoded bit stream is transmitted from a broadcast station 1413 to acommunication or broadcast satellite 1414. The satellite receives thisinformation, sends it to a home 1415 having equipment for receivingsatellite broadcast programs, and the video information is reconstructedand displayed in this home using devices such as a television receiveror a set top box.

[0072] Digital image communication using mobile terminals 1406 hasrecently attracted considerable attention, due to the fact that imagecommunication at very low bit rates has become possible. Digitalportable terminals can be categorized in the following three types: atransceiver having both an encoder and decoder; a transmitter havingonly an encoder; and a receiver having only a decoder.

[0073] An encoding device can be installed in a video camera recorder1407. The camera can also be used just for capturing the video signaland this signal can be supplied to a custom encoder 1411. All of thedevices or systems shown in this drawing can be equipped with the codingand/or decoding method described in this specification. By using thiscoding and/or decoding method in these devices or systems, images ofhigher quality compared with those images obtained using conventionaltechnologies can be obtained. The following variations are clearlyincluded within the scope of this invention.

[0074] (i) A prerequisite of the above described principle was the useof block matching as a motion compensation method. However, thisinvention is further capable of being applied to all image sequencecoding and decoding methods in which motion compensation is performed bytaking a value for the vertical and horizontal components of the pixelmotion vector that is other than an integer multiple of the samplingperiod in the vertical and horizontal directions of the pixel, and thenfinding by interpolation, the intensity value of a position where thesample value is not present. Thus for instance, the global motioncompensation listed in Japanese Patent Application No. 8-60572 publishedas Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-252470 and the warpingprediction listed in Japanese Patent Application No. 8-249601 publishedas Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-98729 are applicable tothe method of this invention.

[0075] (ii) The description of the invention only mentioned the casewhere a value integral multiple of ½was taken for the horizontal andvertical components of the motion vector. However, this invention isalso generally applicable to methods in which integral multiples of 1/d(d is a positive integer and also an even number) are allowed for thehorizontal and vertical components of the motion vector. However, when dbecomes large, the divisor for division in bilinear interpolation(square of “d”, see Equation 2) also becomes large, so that in contrast,the probability of results from normal division reaching a value of 0.5become low. Accordingly, when performing only positive rounding, theabsolute value of the expectation for rounding errors becomes small andthe bad effects caused by accumulated errors become less conspicuous.Also applicable to the method of this invention, is a motioncompensation method where for instance, the d value is variable, bothpositive rounding and negative rounding are used when d is smaller thana fixed value, and only positive rounding or only negative rounding isused when the value of d is larger than a fixed value.

[0076] (iii) As mentioned in the “Related Art” section, when DCT isutilized as an error coding method, the adverse effects from accumulatedrounding errors are prone to appear when the quantized step size of theDCT coefficient is large. However a method is also applicable to theinvention, in which, when the quantization step size of DCT coefficientsis larger than a threshold value then both positive rounding andnegative rounding are used. When the quantization step size of the DCTcoefficients is smaller than the threshold value then only positiverounding or only negative rounding is used.

[0077] (iv) In cases where error accumulations occur on the luminanceplane and cases where error accumulations occur on the chrominanceplane, the bad effects on the reconstructed images are generally moreserious in the case of error accumulations on the chrominance plane.This is due to the fact that rather than cases where the image darkensor lightens slightly, cases where overall changes in the image colorhappen are more conspicuous. However, a method is also applicable tothis invention in which both positive rounding and negative rounding areused for the chrominance signal, and only positive rounding or negativerounding is used for the luminance signal.

[0078] As described in the “Related Art” section, ¼ pixel accuracymotion vectors obtained by halving the ½ pixel accuracy motion vectorsare rounded to ½ pixel accuracy in H.263. However by adding certainchanges to this method, the absolute expectation value for roundingerrors can be reduced. In H. 263 that was mentioned in the “Related Art”section, a value which is half the horizontal or vertical components ofthe motion vector for the luminance plane is expressed as r+s/4 (r is aninteger, s is an integer less than 4 and not smaller than 0), and when sis 1 or 3, a rounding operation is performed to obtain a 2. Thisoperation can be changed as follows: When s is 1, a rounding operationis performed to obtain a zero “0”, and when s is 3 a 1 is be added to rto make s a “0”. By performing these operations, the number of timesthat the intensity values at positions 406-408 in FIG. 4 is definitelyreduced (probability that horizontal and vertical components of motionvector will be an integer become high) so that the absolute expectationvalue for the rounding error becomes small. However, even if the size ofthe error occurring in this method can be limited, the accumulation oferrors cannot be completely prevented.

[0079] (v) The invention described in this specification is applicableto a method that obtains the final interframe prediction image byaveraging the prediction images obtained by different motioncompensation methods. For example, in the method described in JapanesePatent Application No. 8-3616 published as Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-Open No. 9-200763, interframe prediction images obtained by thefollowing two methods are averaged: block matching in which a motionvector is assigned to each 16×16 pixel block; and block matching inwhich a motion vector is assigned to each 8×8 pixel blocks. In thismethod, rounding is also performed when calculating the average of thetwo prediction images. When only positive rounding is continuouslyperformed in this averaging operation, a new type of rounding erroraccumulates. This problem can be solved by using multiple roundingmethods for this averaging operation. In this method, negative roundingis performed in the averaging operation when positive rounding isperformed in block matching. Conversely, positive rounding is used forthe averaging when negative rounding is used for block matching. Byusing different rounding methods for averaging and block matching, therounding errors from two different sources is cancelled within the sameframe.

[0080] (vi) When utilizing a method that alternately locates P+ framesand P− frames along the time axis, the encoder or the decoder needs todetermine whether the currently processed P frame is a P+ frame or a P−frame. The following is an example of such identification method: Acounter counts the number of P frames after the most recently coded ordecoded I frame, and the current P frame is a P+ frame when the numberis odd, and a P− frame when the number is even (this method is referredto as an implicit scheme). There is also a method for instance, thatwrites into the header section of the coded image information,information to identify whether the currently coded P frame at theencoder is a P+ frame or a P− frame (this method is referred to as anexplicit scheme). Compared with the implicit method, this method is wellable to withstand transmission errors, since there is no need to countthe number of P frames.

[0081] Additionally, the explicit method has the following advantages:As described in the “Related Art” section, past encoding standards (suchas MPEG-1 or MPEG-2) use only positive rounding for motion compensation.This means for instance that the motion estimation/motion compensationdevices (for example equivalent to 106 in FIG. 1) for MPEG-1/MPEG-2 onthe market are not compatible with coding methods that use both P+frames and P− frames. It is assumed that there is a decoder which candecode bit streams generated by a coding method that uses P+ frames andP− frames. In this case if the decoder is based on the above mentionedimplicit method, then it will be difficult to develop an encoder thatgenerates bit streams that can be correctly decoded by the abovementioned decoder, using the above mentioned motionestimation/compensation device for MPEG-1/MPEG-2.

[0082] However, if the decoder is based on the above mentioned explicitmethod, this problem can be solved. An encoder using an MPEG-1/MPEG-2motion estimation/motion compensation device can continuously send P+frames, by continuously writing rounding method distinction informationindicating positive rounding into the frame information header. Whenthis is performed, a decoder based on the explicit method can correctlydecode the bit stream generated by this encoder. Of course, it should bemore likely in such case that the accumulation of rounding errorsoccurs, since only P+ frames are present. However, error accumulation isnot a serious problem in cases where the encoder uses only small valuesas the quantization step size for the DCT coefficients (an example forsuch coders is a custom encoder used only for high rate coding). Inaddition to this interoperability between past standards, the explicitmethod further have the following advantages: (a) the equipment cost forhigh rate custom encoders and coders not prone to rounding erroraccumulation due to frequent insertion of I frames can be reduced byinstalling only positive or negative rounding as the pixel valuerounding method for motion compensation; and (b) the above encoders notprone to rounding error accumulation have the advantage in that there isno need to decide whether to code the current frame as a P+ or P− frame,and the processing is simplified.

[0083] (vii) The invention described in this specification is applicableto coding and decoding methods that applies filtering accompanyingrounding to the interframe prediction images. For instance, in theinternational standard H.261 for image sequence coding, a low-passfilter (called a “loop filter”) is applied to block signals whose motionvectors are not zero (0) in interframe prediction images. Also, inH.263, filters can be used to smooth out discontinuities on blockboundaries (blocking artifacts). All of these filters perform weightedaveraging to pixel intensity values and rounding is then performed onthe averaged intensity values. Even for these cases, selective use ofpositive rounding and negative rounding is effective for preventingerror accumulation.

[0084] (viii) Besides I P+ P− P+ P− . . . , various methods for mixingP+ frames and P− frames such as I P+ P+ P− P− P+ P+ . . . , or I P+ P−P− P+ P+ . . . are applicable to the method of this invention. Forinstance, using a random number generator that outputs 0 and 1 both at aprobability of 50 percent, the encoder can code a P+ and P− frame whenthe output is 0 and 1, respectively. In any case, the less thedifference in probability that P+ frames and P− frames occur in acertain period of time, the less the rounding error accumulation isprone to occur. Further, when the encoder, is allowed to mix P+framesand P− frames by an arbitrary method, the encoder and decoder mustoperate based on the explicit method and not with the implicit methoddescribed above. Accordingly, the explicit method is superior whenviewed from the perspective of allowing flexibility configuration forthe encoder and decoder.

[0085] (ix) The invention described in this specification does not limitthe pixel value interpolation method to bilinear interpolation.Interpolation methods for intensity values can generally be described bythe following equation: $\begin{matrix}\left\lbrack {{Equation}\quad 5} \right\rbrack & (5) \\{{R\left( {{x + r},{y + s}} \right)} = {T\left( {\sum\limits_{j = {- x}}^{x}\quad {\sum\limits_{j = {- x}}^{x}\quad {{h\left( {{r - j},{s - k}} \right)}{R\left( {{x + j},{y + k}} \right)}}}} \right)}} & \quad\end{matrix}$

[0086] where, r and s are real numbers, h(r, s) is a function forinterpolating the real numbers, and T(z) is a function for rounding thereal number z. The definitions of R (x, y), x, and y are the same as inEquation 4.

[0087] Motion compensation utilizing positive rounding is performed whenT (z) is a function representing positive rounding, and motioncompensation utilizing negative rounding is performed when the functionrepresenting negative rounding. This invention is applicable tointerpolation methods that can be described using Equation 5. Forinstance, bilinear interpolation can be described by defining h(r, s) asshown below. $\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}\left\lbrack {{Equation}\quad 6} \right\rbrack \\\begin{matrix}{{{h\left( {r,s} \right)} = {\left( {1 - {r}} \right)\left( {1 - {s}} \right)}},} & {{0 \leq {r} \leq {1,0} \leq {s} \leq 1},} \\{0,} & {{otherwise}.}\end{matrix}\end{matrix} & (6)\end{matrix}$

[0088] However, if for instance h(r,s) is defined as shown below,$\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}\left\lbrack {{Equation}\quad 7} \right\rbrack \\\begin{matrix}{{{h\left( {r,s} \right)} = {1 - {r} - {s}}},} & {{0 \leq {{r} + {s}} \leq 1},{{rs} < 0},} \\{{1 - {r}},} & {{{r} \geq {s}},{{r} \leq 1},{{rs} \geq 0},} \\{{1 - {s}},} & {{{s} > {r}},{{s} \leq 1},{{rs} > 0},} \\{0,} & {{otherwise}.}\end{matrix}\end{matrix} & (7)\end{matrix}$

[0089] then an interpolation method different from bilinearinterpolation is implemented but the invention is still applicable.

[0090] (x) The invention described in this specification does not limitthe coding method for error images to DCT (discrete cosine transform).For instance, wavelet transform (for example, N. Antonioni, et. al,“Image Coding Using Wavelet Transform” IEEE Trans. Image Processing,vol. 1, no.2, April 1992) and Walsh-Hadamard transform (for example, A.N. Netravalli and B. G. Haskell, “Digital Pictures”, Plenum Press, 1998)are also applicable to this invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image coding method comprising: estimatingmotion vectors between an input image to be coded and a reference image;synthesizing a prediction image of the input image using the motionvectors and the reference image; generating a difference image bycalculating a difference between the input image and the predictionimage; and outputting coded information of the input image includinginformation related to the difference image and the motion vectors,wherein said synthesizing the prediction image includes calculatingintensity values at points where no pixels actually exist in thereference image by interpolation, wherein said interpolation is doneaccording to information specifying a positive rounding method or anegative rounding method when a current frame of the input image is a Pframe, and wherein said interpolation is done using a predeterminedrounding method which is a positive rounding method or a negativerounding method when the current frame of the input image is a B frame.2. An image coding method according to claim 1, wherein saidpredetermined rounding method is a positive rounding method.
 3. An imagecoding method according to claim 2, wherein: said positive roundingmethod is performed in accordance with the following equations:Ib=[(La+Lb+1)/2];Ic=[(La+Lc+1)/2];Id=[(La+Lb+Lc+Ld+2)/4], and saidnegative rounding method is performed in accordance with the followingequations: Ib=[(La+Lb)/2];Ic=[(La+Lc)/2];Id=[(La+Lb+Lc+Ld+1)/4], whereLa is an intensity value of a first pixel in the reference image, Lb isan intensity value of a second pixel in the reference image which ishorizontally adjacent to the first pixel, Lc is an intensity value of athird pixel in the reference image which is vertically adjacent to thefirst pixel, and Ld is an intensity value of a fourth pixel in thereference image which is vertically adjacent to the second pixel andhorizontally adjacent to the third pixel, Ib is an interpolatedintensity value at a midpoint between a position of the first pixel anda position of the second pixel, Ic is an interpolated intensity value ata midpoint between the position of the first pixel and a position of thethird pixel, and Id is an interpolated intensity value of a midpointbetween the position of the first pixel, the position of the secondpixel, the position of the third pixel, and a position of the fourthpixel.
 4. An image coder comprising: a memory to store a reference imagewhich is a previously decoded image; and a synthesizer to estimatemotion vectors between an input image to be coded and a reference image,to synthesize a prediction image of the input image using the motionvectors and the reference image, to generate a difference image bycalculating a difference between the input image and the predictionimage, and to produce coded information of the input image includinginformation related to the difference image and the motion vectors,wherein the prediction image is synthesized by calculating intensityvalues at points where no pixels actually exist in the reference imageby interpolation, and wherein the interpolation is done according toinformation specifying a positive rounding method or a negative roundingmethod when the current frame is a P frame, and using a predeterminedrounding method which is a positive rounding method or a negativerounding method when the current frame is a B frame.
 5. An image coderaccording to claim 4, wherein said predetermined rounding method is apositive rounding method.
 6. An image coder according to claim 5,wherein: said positive rounding method is performed in accordance withthe following equations:Ib=[(La+Lb+1)/2];Ic=[(La+Lc+1)/2];Id=[(La+Lb+Lc+Ld+2)/4], and saidnegative rounding method is performed in accordance with the followingequations: Ib=[(La+Lb)/2];Ic=[(La+Lc)/2];Id=[(La+Lb+Lc+Ld+1)/4], whereLa is an intensity value of a first pixel in the reference image, Lb isan intensity value of a second pixel in the reference image which ishorizontally adjacent to the first pixel, Lc is an intensity value of athird pixel in the reference image which is vertically adjacent to thefirst pixel, and Ld is an intensity value of a fourth pixel in thereference image which is vertically adjacent to the second pixel andhorizontally adjacent to the third pixel, Ib is an interpolatedintensity value at a midpoint between a position of the first pixel anda position of the second pixel, Ic is an interpolated intensity value ata midpoint between the position of the first pixel and a position of thethird pixel, and Id is an interpolated intensity value of a midpointbetween the position of the first pixel, the position of the secondpixel, the position of the third pixel, and a position of the fourthpixel.